NASIR MAZHAR SS13

The cool kids of east-London all gathered for the gig-meet-play-meet-rap-battle presentation that was Nasir Mashar’s latest collection at the Topshop Showspace. Weaved hair and gelled-kiss curls were topped with plastic words and arabesque headpieces to showcase the milliner’s accessories of choice for the season ahead. As for the clothes, they were a mix of 90s prints and fabrics with a cyber-punk twist from furry tiger-print boleros and clear stripper heels to sporty visors and backpack-style harnesses, all strapped to Mashar’s collective group of colourful cholas and seriously hench fluo thugs.

See through asymmetrical t-shirts were paired with white jeans and a “SEX” printed bolero that possessed the infamous “S” lettering we were all obsessed with at mid-school, while neon orange fishnets were layered with black graffiti-print bikinis and red tracksuit bottoms – complete with tremendous nails courtesy of WAH Nails founder and owner Sharmadean Reid. Think the 5th Element’s red-haired heroine, LeeLoo Dallas matched with a gangsta-from-the-hood twist and you’ve got Nasir’s wacky aesthetic in a nutshell.

And if all that wasn’t enough, our ears too were treated to the spectacle as rappers Merky Ace and Kozzie battled it out amidst the models in front of a cartoon-esque, afro-hair salon set, and while we were watching/listening/bopping our head to the music, Nasir himself sneaked into the crowd just next to us to watch his work come to life. We had just enough time to enjoy a few beats of what can only be described as a surreal, gangster-science fiction show, before Meadham Kirchhoff called next!